IV-395 



WATERCRAFT OPERATION 



Estuarine areas are important highways of commerce; thousands 

 of commercial vessels, foreign and domestic, from ocean liners 

 to barges, traverse the coastal waterways each year. Added to 

 this traffic are many of the 1500 Federal vessels and many of 

 nearly eight million recreational vessels. All of these water- 

 craft carry people and/or cargo, and they are a real or potential 

 pollution source. Just based on an occupancy rate alone, the 

 waterways of this Nation received untreated wastes from vessels 

 equivalent to a city of 500,000. Added to these wastes are the 

 many gallons of oils, bilge water, ballast water, wash water, 

 chemicals, and accidental cargo spills. 



Recreational boat usage creates a somewhat different waste impact 

 from that of commercial traffic. These craft are generally con- 

 gregated near large population centers, and boat usage is most 

 intense on the weekends when the boat owners have free time. In 

 addition to the human waste and garbage, there are large quantities 

 of unburnt fuel products exhausted from boats, particularly from 

 the two-stroke cycle outboard motors (Figure IV. 5. 16). 



MINERAL EXPLOITATION 



Commercial exDloitation of the mineral resources in estuarine 

 areas is another potentially significant waste source. Three 



